GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[TOareaFan]

Unless GO offers continued express service from Brampton to Union Station via Highways 410/401, it wouldn't be status quo for many riders, who would be forced to make a transfer to/from a bus with a 10-15 minute pad in the schedule, increasing travel times, and reducing service from every half hour to every hour. But you know that.

I do know that....and I don't intend to get bogged down on details here ......but my point is very simple....ReR is very much in jeopardy in any exercise where cuts need to be found because all it is is a concept....a conept that is, what, 7 years (ie at least one more election cycle) away from happening....and it can be cut without the public feeling any cuts (for ease, take the bit about bramalea out of my last post....just leave service as it is now....it still would not be felt as a "cut").

I am not proposing or favour cutting ReR, I am pointing out that in an exercise in finding ways to not spend money...it is very much at risk.

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

DBFOM's?

DBFOM = Design Build Finance Operate Maintain

Can I ask that we all be mindful with acronyms please? This is probably the third time in a couple weeks I've been confused by an acronym, and I'm one of those in the inbetween crowd; long enough resident observer, not a full-on technicalist.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

With Regard to RER my questioning of its cancellation lies on a lot of ancillary promises that have been made and stuff that has already been built.

I.e.
How will Lakeshore West have the capacity without increasing frequencies with the Niagara extension?
How will all the services running on the GTS corridor integrate without the operational benefits of electrification?
Isn't smarttrack still pretty important to the city of Toronto and John Tory?

We've also made and are still making huge investments in new maintenance facilities, station improvements, double tracking etc.

Lakeshore will be broken into Hamilton Toronto and Hamilton Niagara, passengers will most likely transfer at west harbour both ways off peak.
I think they will add extra tracks in addition to the downtown brampton bypass.
I think so.

Reece, I don't think RER is getting canceled, but I think the goal with Doug is to get all day service in now.

 

[hw621]

Answer: We’d love to be everywhere, but our focus is on the Greater Golden Horseshoe, where there’s a bigger need for regular daily service at this point. #AskMetrolinx

 

[Allandale25]

^ Isn't it also the case that the Metrolinx Act defines their service area?

 

[ShonTron]

View attachment 146738

Answer: We’d love to be everywhere, but our focus is on the Greater Golden Horseshoe, where there’s a bigger need for regular daily service at this point. #AskMetrolinx

In Collingwood's case, the tracks are either already gone, or disused and likely to be pulled out.

 

[robmausser]

In Collingwood's case, the tracks are either already gone, or disused and likely to be pulled out.

https://www.simcoe.com/news-story/7...ing-to-buy-railway-corridor-from-collingwood/

They also plan to discuss selling the roughly 37-kilometre section to the County of Simcoe, which could be used for a transportation corridor.

The Railway is being purchased to preserve the corridor for transportation

Its due to lack of ridership.

 

[robmausser]

View attachment 146738

Answer: We’d love to be everywhere, but our focus is on the Greater Golden Horseshoe, where there’s a bigger need for regular daily service at this point. #AskMetrolinx

Kingston and London are already well served by VIA Rail.

There would be no reason to have GO to them, as no one in their right mind would use it for commuting, and VIA already exists.

 

[robmausser]

I think ReR is very much in jeopardy. Outside of these boards, the letters mean very little.....all people know is that they want/need more/better service.

More/better service can be delivered in many forms and (for example), if you left the Lakeshore Lines at 30 minute off peak service....no one on those lines would view it as a "cut".......if you found a way to get more trains into Bramalea and all of a sudden offered hourly evening and weekend service to that station....no one on the Kitchener line would view it as a cut....to many it would be status quo and to a very significant portion of the line it would be a huge service increase....I am not as familiar with actual points on the other lines but you get the point....you can cut ReR from the plans and still not give the public the feeling/impression that anything has been cut....in fact some will see more service (perhaps even sooner) and it will feel like a positive.

I sense you are a fan of ReR, so I believe you have every right to be concerned.

I think RER or not, the focus right now should 100% be to increase service using existing bi levels.

We should see hourly All Day 2 Way service 7 days a week on the Barrie, Stouffville and Kitchener Line (to Mount Pleasant) first and foremost.

 

[rbt]

There would be no reason to have GO to them, as no one in their right mind would use it for commuting, and VIA already exists.

Tens of thousands around the world commute that distance on a daily basis. The restriction for commuting has a strong correlation with time and not so much distance or even cost (real-estate value varies with the commuting cost though).

Both could hit that magic 1 hour mark with technology readily available today. The capital investment is one heck of an expensive suburban sprawl subsidy though.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

In Collingwood's case, the tracks are either already gone, or disused and likely to be pulled out.

The rails are still there, but waayyy beyond usability. Its shame Collingwood lost freight service.

 

[lenaitch]

The rails are still there, but waayyy beyond usability. Its shame Collingwood lost freight service.

Many of the road crossings have been severed as well. The ROW has been bought by the County I assume as a rail bank. They lost their freight service because they lost sufficient customers to make it financially viable. Lots of condos though.

 

[steveintoronto]

DBFOM = Design Build Finance Operate Maintain

Can I ask that we all be mindful with acronyms please? This is probably the third time in a couple weeks I've been confused by an acronym, and I'm one of those in the inbetween crowd; long enough resident observer, not a full-on technicalist.

lol! Yeah, there's at least three acronyms in use by ML that for all intents and porpoises (sic) mean the same thing: P3 (which is collective acronym for all of the acridonyms (sic). It's only when discussing the specific finance and operational details that the multitude of acronyms becomes necessary. A lot of the confusion was purposeful on QP's part as the term P3 evokes fear, anger and loathing of the reactionary crowd. The three acronyms bantered by ML are not used by others.

 

[Richard White]

Kingston and London are already well served by VIA Rail.

There would be no reason to have GO to them, as no one in their right mind would use it for commuting, and VIA already exists.

Honestly with London being a large university town and Kingston being a tourist destination I can see there being latent demand for services to them.

Perhaps it is time to stop thinking of Union as the end point for all the trains and have trains run between cities other than Toronto i.e. Kingston to Barrie via Peterborough or Kitchener to London with connections to Toronto via the existing lines.

 

[PinkLucy]

Kingston also has a large university presence. I recently had occasion to take VIA to Ottawa, and Kingston was a very busy stop.